Malkavian Antitribu
Cainites are humankind's base nature made flesh, and the Sabbat are Kindred who accept their nature and revel in the power of the Beast. The Malkavian antitribu, then, are the Beast unrestrained. While Camarilla Malkavians may instruct or illustrate an idea using their madness, the antitribu seem more concerned with spreading madness, much like a disease. If a Malkavian is crazy like a fox, their antitribu are rabid foxes. The Malkavian antitribu wield their dementia like double-edged swords. To the antitribu, insanity is a weapon, albeit one that hopelessly distorts them. Mastery of its use may take decades, or even centuries. At once completely independent, yet strangely joined to other Freaks by an inscrutable group consciousness, a member of this clan is not easily forgotten -- no matter how badly one may wish it so. Malkavian antitribu are skilled at psychological abuse. By combining forceful words with subtlety, and the use of trust violated by moments of sheer terror, the Freaks can pry information from the most stoic victim or mortify even the staunchest of captives. It is for this reason the Sabbat hasn't destroyed the clan outright; it's too useful. From the most distinguished archbishop to the lowest ductus, vampires who have dealt with the Malkavian antitribu know that they are holding a weapon that may fully intend to annihilate its wielder. Like other Malkavians, the Malkavian antitribu suffer the permanent mark of madness, though few know that they are incurably insane, and many outlets for their "philosophy" exist in the Sabbat. They seem to have the lest fear of Final Death of any Cainites, both inside and outside the Sabbat. They make fine soldiers or officers in times of war as well, for they believe that it doesn't really matter who fights the battles, as long as chaos comes out of order, and the cycle of chaos continues. For a time the Sabbat were unsure of how to deal with the Malkavians in their midst. The Freaks could follow rules when it served their purposes, but for the most part, they were uncontrollable. Some Sabbat packs kept their Malkavian members locked away, bound in basements and crypts until the sect needed to loose the psychotics on their enemies. According to popular rumor, it was this lack of respect for their unique insights that promoted the great Malkavian "disease." Starting in the depths of a thought-starved delirium, the seeds of mass psychosis started to form. Maybe it was an attempt by the Malkavian antitribu to show the clans that they would not be so easily manipulated. Maybe it was just a neat thing to try at the time. Whatever the case, one thing is certain -- the parent clan outside the Sabbat has become "infected." What this means, none outside the Malkavian antitribu know, but its possible repercussions set even the stalwart Lasombra on edge. Even this minuscule bit of knowledge comes only from consistent corroboration on the part of worried Cainites. The Malkavian antitribu display a keenly vicious edge to their insanity. Rumors abound of Sabbat packs' seers who divine a War Part's success by reading entrails ripped from a still-living human and of blood-maddened prophets who presage the coming of Gehenna in this, the Time of Thin Blood. The most dangerous of all -- the serial killers, suicide cultists and the like -- may be "bred" for special missions into fast-held Camarilla territory, sent to spread the madness with which they are burdened, to pave the way for the Great Jyhad. Nicknames: Freaks Appearance: A Malkavian antitribu's mode of dress depends on her dementia, from the very strange to the extremely conservative. A bag lady conspiracy theorist or crack addict holding up in a flop house in stolen thrift-store regalia could be a Malkavian antitribu, as could a stressed-out former Wall Street stockbroker in a rumpled Armani suit or a morose housewife in suburbia. Malkavian antitribu often have a wild, savage look in their eyes, appearing on the verge of frenzy. Many are poorly groomed, wearing unkempt -- or gore spattered -- clothing. Haven: Better the devil you know when it comes to Malkavians, reason most Sabbat. Most ducti prefer to keep their crazies where they can keep an eye on them, at communal havens or other acceptable locales. Left to their own devices, the Malkavian antitribu establish havens in asylums, the basements of clinics or in transient hostels. A Sabbat Malkavian with multiple personalities may have two or three very different havens to choose from, depending on which personality is dominant when dawn nears. Background: Inmates of asylums, hospitals for the criminally insane, street bums, lawyers -- Malkavian antitribu choose almost anyone from any walk of life. While those outside the clan see no rhyme or reason for the selection of childer, the Sabbat Malkavian looks for individuals who are strong enough to bear the liability of their madness, while developing the clan's unique insight. Character Creation: With the Malkavian antitribu, any concept, Nature or Demeanor may be apropos. Mental Attributes are almost always primary. Any Ability category can be primary, depending on the focus of the Cainite's derangement. Common Background Traits include Herd, Contacts and Mentor: A Mentor might be an older Sabbat Malkavian trying to attune the younger one to their own madness, while Contacts include doctors, psychiatrists or police investigators. Few Malkavian antitribu can summon the cogency to adopt a Path of Enlightenment, but those who do may most often be found on the Paths of Caine, Power and the Inner Voice or Lilith. Clan Disciplines: Auspex, Dementation, Obfuscate. Weaknesses: The Malkavian antitribu, like their Camarilla counterparts, are all insane. Many of them are given to bouts of extreme violence with no concern whether the carnage is being directed at packmates or enemies. When a Malkavian character is created, the player must choose a derangement (see Vampire: The Masquerade pages 222-224) for that character at the time of the Embrace. This derangement can be temporarily overcome with Willpower, but can never be permanently "cured" or eliminated. Additionally, Sabbat Malkavians are often too undisciplined (or too indulgent in their own monstrousness) to resist frenzy. A Sabbat Malkavian's player may never spend a Willpower point to avoid her character's frenzy. As one might think, many Sabbat Malkavian's unlives are short and punctuated by a great deal of violence. Members of this clan often lead very... dynamic... unlives and end up destroying themselves in one form or another before too many nocturnal years pass. Organization: Sabbat Malkavians claim that no sort of organization exists within their clan. It seems that any "clan" activity that occurs is completely random and coincidental. The Malkavian antitribu agree wholeheartedly with this supposition, citing as an example the "infection" of their Camarilla peers. In fact, some Sabbat Malkavians maintain that no such things as Malkavian antitribu exist -- they profess to be Panders. Supposedly, the most depraved, dangerous members of the clan are locked well below ground behind strong metal bars, with only a few Sabbat leaders holding the keys for their release. When needed, the rumors say, these prisoners are released to be used as weapons. It is also suspected that the Sabbat Malkavians carry rabies, and create rabid human and animal ghouls. Quote: "Who would have thought a woman that size would have so much blood in her? Besides God, of course -- God knows everything. Can we get someone to clean this up?"